PREWITT, N.M. – Alcohol was a contributing factor to a fatal crash on Interstate 40. The accident left one person dead and sent three others to Cibola General Hospital in Grants, New Mexico, on April 27.
Around 1:40 p.m. that Friday, California man Brandon Spangler was travelling Westbound on I-40, he was driving a Toyota 4-Runner SUV. For reasons unknown to police investigators, Spangler swerved into the left lane, cutting off a 2019 Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck that was trying to pass him.
The Chevorlet was driven by a 64-year-old man from Thorndale, Texas. The unnamed driver and his 62-year-old female passenger were both uninjured in the crash, they are unnamed. They have not been charged in this accident. A passenger in the back of the truck, 63-year-old Missouri, TX woman Tracye Clark was sent to Cibola General for non-life-threatening injuries, Clark was cited in the accident for failing to properly use a seatbelt. She was cited in the Cibola County Magistrate Court.
Spangler was transported to Cibola General with life-threatening injuries. Spangler could not recover and was pronounced deceased at the hospital by the office of the medical investigator. New Mexico State Police is investigating this accident. In a statement, Public Information Officer Dusty Francisco said alcohol appears to be a contributing factor to this crash.